The role of financial institutions on women entrepreneurship in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Abstract

Woman entrepreneurship has been recognized as a driver for economic growth and a yardstick to measure the prospects of a country. The problem of accessibility to finance by women enterprises has been linked with the reluctance of financial institutions to grant them loans because they regard them as a high-risk sub-sector of the economy. But it has been seen that female entrepreneurs are now offered new opportunities to comparatively start and grow enterprises easily through the provision of credit, financial advisory and adoption of technology. The study determined the roles of financial institutions and Women Entrepreneurship business in Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A sample of 300 respondents was used for the study. Data were analysed with the aid of correlation coefficients and regression analysis using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS Version 24.0). The data collected revealed that there is a significant relationship between financial advisory and savings of Women Entrepreneurship (β = 0.511, t(1,248) = 9.082, p < 0.05). Also, credit provision has a significant impact on acquisition of technology of Women Entrepreneurship in Nigeria. It was concluded that Financial Institutions are still offering necessary financial services to large number of women Enterprises Based on these findings, the study recommended that government should create the enabling law that will facilitate extension of credit facilities for Women Entrepreneur enterprises to thrive in Nigeria. Women Entrepreneurs should imbibe technological dynamism to foster their businesses in Nigeria, while embarking on through seminars and workshops at urban and local level on financial literacy. Finally, the financial assistance of the Women Entrepreneurship sector needs to be broadened and injection of adequate inflow of credit should be made assessable by financial Institutions at a reduced interest rate.